Joan WeirAlso known as Joan Sherman Weir or Joan S. Weir. Popular Canadian author of both adult and children's novels and non-fiction. Born in Calgary in 1928. Ms. Weir always loved reading and studied English at university. It seems clear she always knew she wanted to be a writer. She began by writing for radio. The first adult novels she wrote were not a success, being turned down by a number of publishers, but when she tried instead writing children's novels she soon became very successful. She has written in a few different genres, but seems to enjoy historical and mysteries best. She has also written for TV.

A number of her books feature horses, some are part of a mystery series, but one is a more traditional pony story focusing on equestrian competition. Unfortunately I do not know anything about the author's interest/experience with horses.

There is an excellent very detailed interview with the author (see link on the right) from where you can find a lot more detailed info about her life and work.

Lion and Bobbi Series:Series about a brother and sister, Lion and Bobbi, and their horse Rajah, who together solve scary mysteries. Not sure about the horse content in all of them, although the author herself says Rajah does play an important role in solving all the mysteries.

1) THE WITCHER(POLESTAR PB [CANADA] 1998)Reprinted by original publisher in 2000SUMMARY: Twelve year old Lion and his horse Rajah have to accompany his father and older sister to Gold Rush country, where his father is investigating an adoption case of a girl called Spud. There the children get involved with a mystery involving hidden gold and Spud's mysterious powers.

2) THE PRINCIPAL'S KID(POLESTAR PB [CANADA] 1999)Reprinted by original publisher in 2000SUMMARY: Lion and Bobbi are in danger when trying to solve a mystery linked to a local river and help a young boy accused of robbery clear his name. Not sure how much horse content in this one.

3) THE MYSTERIOUS VISITOR(POLESTAR [CANADA] 2001)Reprinted by original publisher in 2000SUMMARY: The children investigate a number of mysterious happenings including the appearance of crop circles? Is there really a supernatural explanation for what is going on?

Collector's Info:Reasonably easy to find in Canada and the USA, although they do not appear to be in print in the USA at the moment. A lot harder to get hold of elsewhere.

Other Horse & Pony Books:

THREE-DAY CHALLENGEaka STORM RIDER (Reprint edition)(SCHOLASTIC PB (CANADA) 1976)Paperback original.Reprinted in paperback by Scholastic in 1986/87 under the new title.EDITIONS PICTURED: 1st edition, 1986 reprint.SUMMARY: Young adult book set in the world of eventing. Eighteen year old Janey has worked hard to recover her horse's confidence after a bad accident. She needs to make it into the top four at an upcoming three day event in order to get on the Canadian national team. But trouble with boys as well as horses, makes her task not an easy one!

SECRET AT WESTWIND(SCHOLASTC PB [CANADA] 1981)Paperback original.SUMMARY: Mystery story. Not sure how much horse content however. While exploring the mystery surrounding the crumbling old house and deserted equestrian track, Sandy learns something about herself.

SIXTEEN IS SPELT O.U.C.H(STODDART PB [CANADA] 1991)Paperback original.Reprinted in 1995. Still in print in USA (as of 2014).SUMMARY: Young adult story. Tim has to spend the summer working at a ranch. Once there he wants to prove himself in the upcoming rodeo to try and win some attention from the rancher's daughter Hilary.

Collector's Info:Please note - I am not sure how much horse content is in Secret at Westwind. If anyone can provide more information please drop me a line. As far as I know all three were paperback first editions and there were no hardback reprints. Three Day Challenge is quite hard to find, especially under it's original title. Secret at Westwind is not a common title either but it is usually cheap. Sixteen is Spelt O.U.C.H is still in print in the USA and can be bought new. Not in print in the UK at the moment and quite hard to find over here, although can be bought from the USA via Amazon.co.uk for reasonable shipping costs.